Treating Insomnia With prescript Medication

Getting a dwarfish-term prescription from your doctor for sleeping pills may keep from your insomnia when on top of-the-counter remedies don't work. Learn nearby the different options for insomnia treatment. At a stroke again, it’s 2 a.m. and you’re lying awake, tossing and turning. Soaking in a near to making a discovery bath, reading a book, sipping chamomile tea, and delightful over-the-counter sleeping pills haven’t done the caper. 

If you’ve read all about non-prescription insomnia options and not any are helping, the next step effectiveness be prescription medication for insomnia treatment. “There are more medicine medications available for insomnia than till the cows come home before, but the way they work and the side effects transform,” says Paul Selecky, MD, medical overseer of the Hoag Sleep Disorders Center in Newport Margin, Calif. Here’s a look at the most commonly prescribed sleeping pills, their benefits, side effects, and risks. 

Prescription Sleeping Pills: Benzodiazepine Hypnotics

 This font of sleep medication acts on receptors in the wisdom to slow down the nervous organization, allowing you to fall asleep and thwart asleep. “They’re trifle to boost the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA, which calms sense activity,” says Dr. Selecky. Benzodiazepines are also adapted to to reduce anxiety, which can support ease insomnia. 

If your essential problem is getting to sleep, your doctor may command a quick-acting sleeping medicine that won’t stay in your league long, such as triazolam (Halcion). At any rate, according to Selecky, if your emotionally upset is staying asleep, a sleep medication that lasts longer, such as flurazepam (Dalmane), clonazepam (Klonopin), temazepam (Restoril), or lorazepam (Ativan), may be more pilfer. 

These insomnia medications are not designed for extensive-term use because you can rapidly start to develop a magnanimity, creating the need for more and more drugs to be skilful to sleep. This can start to come off within just a few weeks. Other side effects encompass daytime sleepiness, blurry thinking, dizziness, and headaches. They can also tone down the amount of deep REM drowse. While "benzos" acquainted with to be commonly prescribed to steal people relax or get to siesta, these days they are recommended much less many a time due to their side effects and the availability of other options. 

Prescription Sleeping Pills: Non-Benzodiazepine Hypnotics 

 This savoir vivre of sleep medication acts on the that having been said neurotransmitters as benzodiazepines, but the chemical building of these drugs is different “They’re newer than benzodiazepines and are solicitude recollections to have a lower risk of dependency,” says Selecky. Insomnia treatment drugs within this realm include zolpidem (Ambien), eszopiclone (Lunesta), and zaleplon (Sonata). In new studies, Lunesta has been shown remarkable for people with sleep problems due to arthritis distress. 

One study of rheumatoid arthritis patients institute that almost half had no insomnia at all after compelling the buy Ambien online for four weeks. Side effects are nearly the same to those of benzodiaxepines, but are generally less stern. Plus, they don’t interfere with REM slumber the way benzodiazepines can. Some people alluring Ambien have done things like approach and eat while still asleep, but this is rare. 

Stopping non-benzodiazepines swiftly can cause withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, sweating, shaking, and offbeat anxiety, so discontinuing wish-term use should be done subordinate to a doctor’s supervision. To dwindle the risk of dependency and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, doctors typically don’t demand these drugs for more than four weeks, says Selecky. 

Prescription Sleeping Pills: Sedating Antidepressants

Some antidepressants can inform appropriate ease insomnia when charmed in low doses by reducing the amount of early it takes to fall asleep and allowing deeper, uninterrupted rest. Antidepressants used for this tenacity are typically those in the older classes of drugs (tricyclics, tetracyclics) that conduct the side effects of drowsiness and sedation. Examples of these sedating antidepressants comprehend amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep) and trazodone (Desyrel). For people with pit, sedating antidepressants can do double tariff, relieving depression and insomnia. Additionally, these buy Valium online experience been shown to help effortlessness pain from certain long-lasting conditions such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.  

Other side effects of sedating antidepressants register weight gain, dizziness, blurred eyesight, constipation, and prolonged drowsiness. They can also deteriorate restless legs syndrome. The usurp medication for you will depend on the type of insomnia that’s keeping you wake up to and its cause, so discuss your shut-eye struggles with your doctor. And because most nod off medications are recommended only for limited periods of time, you probably will want to explore non-treat therapies as well. If you have chronic insomnia, talk to your doctor beside behavior changes and other non-drug treatments like cognitive-behavioral cure these lifestyle approaches may be your best clothes bet for long-term relief.

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Why We Could All Do With A Siesta

Sleeping after meal

The Spaniards may have been right all along a siesta after a hearty lunch is natural, new research suggests.
Scientists at The University of Manchester have for the first time uncovered how brain cells or 'neurons' that keep us alert become turned off after we eat.
The findings published in the scientific journal Neuron this week  have implications for treating obesity and eating disorders as well as understanding levels of consciousness.
"It has been known for a while that people and animals can become sleepy and less active after a meal, but brain signals responsible for this were poorly understood," said Dr Denis Burdakov, the lead researcher based in Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences.
"We have pinpointed how glucose the sugar in food - can stop brain cells from producing signals that keep us awake.
Dr Burdakov's research has shown exactly how glucose blocks or 'inhibits' neurons that make orexins  tiny proteins that are vital for normal regulation of our state of consciousness.
"These cells are critical for responding to the ever-changing body-energy state with finely orchestrated changes in arousal, food seeking, hormone release and metabolic rate to ensure that the brain always has adequate glucose."
Malfunction of orexin neurons can lead to narcolepsy, where sufferers cannot stay awake, and obesity; there is also evidence that orexin neurons play a role in learning, reward-seeking and addiction.
"We have identified the pore in the membrane of orexin-producing cells that is responsible for the inhibiting effect of glucose.
"This previously unknown mechanism is so sensitive it can detect minute changes in glucose levels the type that occurs between meals for example.
"This may well provide an explanation for after-meal tiredness and why it is difficult to sleep when hungry.
"Now we know how glucose stops orexin neurons 'firing', we have a better understanding of what may occur in disorders of sleep and body weight.
"This research perhaps sheds light on why our European friends are so fond of their siestas."

Sleep: More Pills for Insomnia

Sleeping Pills

This is likely to be a year that increasing numbers of insomnia sufferers get a good night's sleep - thanks to a slew of new medications.
"Over the last year, there has been a sea-change in the attitude about insomnia and an acknowledgment that there is a role for medication and behavior therapy in this condition," said Rafael Pelayo, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. Many of Pelayo's patients suffer from insomnia, which, according to the National Institutes of Health, affects more than 70 million Americans.
Three new sleeping pills, including Lunesta, were brought to market in 2005, and several more are expected to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year.
Another change for patients: the generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' Ambien, the most widely prescribed sleeping aid on the market, will be available in October.
Pelayo emphasized that a sleep doctor's ultimate goal is to help patients sleep without medication; at Stanford, this is achieved through its pioneering behavioral treatment programs. Still, he added, sleeping pills can play an early, important role in treatment.
According to IMS Health, a provider of health-care information, nearly 25 million prescriptions for sleep medications were written in the first half of 2005. Pelayo, who consults for several drug makers, thinks these numbers will rise in 2006, as the new pills are safer than older-generation sleeping drugs. "We can now prescribe these pills with greater confidence," he said.

Inspire Medical to Test Implanted Device for Sleep Apnea

According to the National Institutes of Health, about 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a potentially life-threatening condition. CPAP machines are prescribed for most to control symptoms, but many find them cumbersome and uncomfortable, leading many to be noncompliant with treatment. Inspire Medical Systems is testing an implanted device that stimulates the nerves in the tongue, opening the airways during sleep for better breathing.

Common Cause of Sleep Apnea is Tongue Relaxation

The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). During sleep, the airway collapses and the blockage causes shallow breathing or breathing pauses. One common cause is a relaxation of the tongue that causes it to cover air passages. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and often occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. OSA is more common in people who are overweight, but it can affect anyone, even children.
Untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, arrhythmias, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, obesity and diabetes. Due to inadequate sleep, sleep apnea can also increase the chance of having a work-related or driving accident.
Inspire Medical Systems, based in Minneapolis MN, has developed a new device that works by stimulating the hypoglossal nerve in the tongue with a mild electrical current, causing the muscle to constrict. The small pacemaker-like device is implanted under the skin near the collarbone and a wire attached to the hypoglossal nerve. A sensor at the diaphragm detects when a patient takes a breath, signaling the implant to send a current.
The power of the current will be adjusted so that the nerve is stimulated just enough to keep the tongue from falling backward during sleep, thus not blocking the airway, but not too much as to cause the tongue to stick out. Patients can turn on the device at bedtime with a remote control and preset the device to turn on and off at certain times.
Inspire plans to begin enrolling 100 sleep apnea patients in January for a key study to see if their hypoglossal nerve stimulation implant device will work. Two other US competitors have also announced small-scale testing. Potential patients will be required to undergo a special exam to determine if tongue collapse is the true cause of the apnea.
Until approved for use, patients with obstructive sleep apnea should work with their healthcare providers or a sleep specialist to find the best CPAP machine for their individual needs. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machines are today’s undisputed best treatment, but as many as 30% of patients discontinue use because of masks that fit poorly or other reasons such as a feeling of claustrophobia.

The Science of Lost Sleep in Teens

Teens and Sleeping

A new poll of teenagers across the US finds that many of them are losing out on quality of life because of a lack of sleep. The results, announced today by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), cite sleeping in class, lack of energy to exercise, feelings of depression, and driving while drowsy as only some of the consequences for insufficient sleep.
The poll data support previous work by three Rhode Island researchers who are at the forefront of sleep research. Previous studies from Brown Medical School, and Lifespan affiliates Bradley Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital, have found that adolescents are not getting enough sleep, and suggest that this can lead to a number of physical and emotional impairments.
Mary A. Carskadon, PhD, with Bradley Hospital and Brown Medical School, chaired the National Sleep Foundation poll taskforce and has been a leading authority on teen sleep for more than a decade. Her research on adolescent circadian rhythms indicates that the internal clocks of adolescents undergo maturational changes making them different from those of children or adults. Nevertheless, teens must adhere to increasingly earlier school start times that make it nearly impossible for them to get enough sleep.
"Our results show that the adage 'early to bed, early to rise' presents a real challenge for adolescents," says Carskadon, who directs the Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Sleep Laboratory and is a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School.
Carskadon's work has been instrumental in influencing school start times across the country. Regionally, the North Kingstown School Department in Rhode Island, North Reading Public Schools in Massachusetts, and West Hartford Public Schools in Connecticut are considering school start time changes due, in part, to research on teens and sleep.
In a study published in the November 2005 issue of the journal Sleep, Carskadon found that the "sleep pressure" rate the biological trigger that causes sleepiness slows down in adolescence and is one more explanation for why teens can't fall asleep until later at night. Carskadon's newest finding indicates that, in addition to the changes in their internal clocks, adolescents experience slower sleep pressure, which may contribute to an overall shift in teen sleep cycles to later hours.
Judy Owens, MD, a national authority on children and sleep, is the director of the pediatric sleep disorders center at Hasbro Children's Hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics at Brown Medical School. Her latest book, "Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep: The All-in-One Resource for Solving Sleep Problems in Children and Teens," is especially important in light of the fact that 90% of the parents polled believed that their adolescents were getting enough sleep during the week.
"This poll sends a clear message to parents: Teens are tired," says Owens. "Parents can help get a handle on the problem by eliminating sleep stealers such as caffeinated drinks in the fridge or a TV or computer in the teen's bedroom as well as enforcing reasonable bed times."
Last June, a major report in the journal Pediatrics merged a review of more than two decades of basic research with clinical advice for physicians. Rhode Island authors included Carskadon, Owens, and lead author, Richard Millman, MD, professor of medicine at Brown Medical School and director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Lifespan Hospitals, a Rhode Island sleep research and treatment center that is one of the largest in the country.
The report indicated that adolescents aged 13 to 22 need nine to 10 hours of sleep each night. It also discussed the hormonal changes that conspire against them. When puberty hits, the body's production of sleep-inducing melatonin is delayed, making an early bedtime biologically impossible for most teens. At the same time, the report notes, external forces such as after-school sports and jobs and early school start times put the squeeze on a full night's sleep.
The result: A "profound negative effect" on mood, school performance and cognitive function. Studies also show that young people between 16 and 29 years of age were the most likely to be involved in crashes caused by the driver falling asleep.
"Some of our kids are literally sleep-walking through life, with some potentially serious consequences," Millman said. "As clinicians and researchers, we know more now than ever about the biological and behavioral issues that prevent kids from getting enough sleep. But the National Sleep Foundation did something powerful: They asked teens themselves about their sleep. The results are startling and should be a wake-up call to any parent or pediatrician."

Napmaster General offers help for the fight against sleep deprivation

Sleep Deprived - Take a Nap

More than half of Americans report being sleep deprived, according to a recent survey by The New York Times. And the day where Americans receive the least amount of sleep, the day after daylight saving time begins, is just around the corner. How will you prepare for that night of even less sleep? While some might be tempted to rush to the coffee shop for an extra jolt of java on the first day of daylight saving, there is a healthier and more effective solution to wake up: celebrate the eighth annual National Napping Day on Monday, March 12 by taking a nap.
William Anthony, professor of rehabilitation counseling at Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and his wife, Camille Anthony, founded National Napping Day together. Anthony, often dubbed the "Napmaster General," explains why they chose this particular date, "On this day Americans are not only more sleep deprived but they are also more nap ready." They also offer the following as additional advantages of napping:

• Napping makes you feel better by improving your mood

• Napping makes you more productive by enhancing your performance

• Napping is an inexpensive refreshment it won't cost you a cent

• Napping is a "no sweat" activity it won't wear out your joints

• A doctor's orders are not necessary napping can be self-prescribed

• Napping is not an invasive procedure no one needs to do anything to you

• There is no weight gain associated with napping you can't eat while you are asleep

• Napping has no dangerous side effects as long as you aren't driving!

National Napping Day, established in 1999, is always the day immediately after daylight saving time begins. The day is meant to help Americans adjust to the time change while raising awareness of the benefits of napping. The benefits of napping have received wide publicity lately due to the recent scientific study showing that regular napping is associated with a reduced level of risk of death from heart attacks or other heart related problems.
"The first Monday after daylight saving time begins is the perfect day to open up people's eyes to the value of napping," says Anthony. "Our goal is to overcome the prejudicial attitudes that many people have about napping, and to encourage everyone to see that napping as a no cost, no sweat way to improved mood and performance."
On previous National Napping Days people have celebrated by having fundraising events such as napathons, or simply by scheduling a nap.